The Garden State is getting its very own “Responsible Gaming Coordinator,” someone who will oversee all of New Jersey’s efforts to provide help for gambling addiction amid the ongoing growth of legal sports betting.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) Director David Rebuck announced on Thursday the new position and several other initiatives to strengthen the state’s responsible-gambling efforts, including those connected to retail and online sports betting sites.
The new responsible-gambling coordinator will tackle everything RG and ensure the state is making progress on its existing initiatives, a press release explained. The RG czar will have to be an “experienced” lawyer who will report directly to Rebuck and point out issues that need to be addressed before working with the industry to shore up those gaps.
Setting a new standard
Furthermore, New Jersey is bringing in new sports-betting advertising standards that emphasize responsible wagering, such as banning the use of the term “risk-free” if a promotion is not truly without risk, as well as ensuring the state’s 1-800-GAMBLER hotline is prominently featured in marketing.
The new ad standards will also offer the public the ability to easily opt out of direct promotions. And the DGE plans on making it easier for players to ban themselves from gambling entirely, by implementing video-conference appointments to self-exclude from casinos and sportsbooks.
The efforts come as regulators and lawmakers across the U.S. are reconsidering their approaches to sports betting, with a swath of new bills and rules proposed. There is also regularly more than $1 billion in New Jersey sports betting every month, and state officials say now is the time to increase their commitment to RG programs.
Crunching the data
“We have seen tremendous growth in sports wagering and online gaming in New Jersey,” Rebuck said in the press release. “In the face of that boom, we have a duty to protect the public from advertising that could be misleading or harmful. And for those in the grip of gambling addiction, we need to offer as many exit ramps from their condition as possible.”
The efforts announced Thursday are in addition to the DGE’S Responsible Gaming Initiative, which launched earlier this year and combs through player data collected by operators to find signs of problem gambling. If those signs are spotted, players can be alerted to their situation with responses that get more and more direct.
“As New Jersey’s gaming and sports wagering industries continue to grow and mature, so do our obligations to assist patrons who are at risk for problem gambling,” Platkin said in the release. “By establishing a dedicated, senior level position within the Division of Gaming Enforcement to focus on responsible gaming, we are sending a clear message that we take this work seriously – and so should the industry.”
